612 PRACTICE OF GARDENING. Part III. 



3532. Subsequent culture. u When the plants have leaves one or two inches broad, take out some from 

 the seed-bed, and prick into other open beds, six inches apart, giving water : in which let them have four 

 or five weeks' growth. Those left in the seed-bed, as well as these, will all acquire proper strength for 

 final transplanting in May, or thence till August. Taking the opportunity of rain, if possible, plant them 

 in an open compartment, in rows two feet and a half asunder, for the first forward plantings in summer; 

 the others two feet ; allotting the whole similar distances in the rows. Give occasional water, if dry 

 weather, till they have struck root. In their advancing growth, hoe the plants once or twice, to cut down 

 rising weeds, and to draw earth about the bottom of the stems, to encourage their growth in the produc- 

 tion of large full heads in proper season, September, October, &c." At the approach of winter, the stems 

 should be earthed up, especially of the taller sorts. When the distances between the plants are such as 

 have been recommended, the hills round each plant will be of such a size and breadth as to cherish the 

 roots of the dwarf varieties, and serve as a protection to the tall sorts in stormy weather. 



3533. Gathering. The heart is to be gathered of all the tall sorts, after which, with the exception of the 

 German kale, and the chou de Milan, the stalks should be pulled up, and taken to the compost-heap or 

 dunghill ; but the terms of the two sorts excepted are to be left for the sake of their side shoots or sprouts. 

 Of the dwarf sorts, the heart may either be cut off", for which the Buda kale and coleworts are well suited ; 

 or the leaves gathered when the plant begins to grow, which corresponds with the habits of the Egyptian 

 and Jerusalem kale. 



3534. Projmgation of the Woburn kale is effected by cuttings of six or seven inches, 

 which readily take root, and may be planted at once where they are finally to remain : the 

 best season is March and April. 



3535. Culture of the Woburn kale. " About the beginning of April, or as soon as 

 winter greens are out of season, the stems are cut down near to the ground, within two 

 buds of the roots, the soil is then slightly forked over, and afterwards kept clear of 

 weeds by the hoe. This is all that is required." (Hort. Trans, v. 299.) 



3536. Blanching the Buda or Portugal kale. Wedgewood writes to the Horticul- 

 tural Society, " I have been trying an experiment with Buda kale, which has an- 

 swered completely ; this is blanching it as you do sea-kale, by turning a pot over it, and 

 letting it remain covered till it is quite blanched. When cut and dressed in that state it 

 is excellent, and one advantage will be, that the same plant will furnish two cuttings, for 

 the sprouts are more delicate than even the original heart of the plant. I used no dung 

 to force it ; but this might be applied with great advantage ; and I think it would be an 

 excellent substitute for sea-kale." (Hort. Trans, iv. 570.) 



3537. To save seed. This can seldom be done of more than one or two sorts in the 

 same garden, on account of the risk of promiscuous impregnation by bees, the wind, &c. 

 As the seed, however, will keep for several years, good specimens of one or two sorts 

 may be selected every year in rotation, and placed in spots distant from each other, in 

 autumn, or early in spring. Trench the root and stem into the ground, at nearly double 

 the distance at which they stood in the plantation. This will allow abundance of air to 

 circulate round the blossoms and seed-pods. They will be ripe in August, when they 

 may be gathered, and threshed out ; and the seed, after being exposed to the dry air in 

 the shade for a few days, put up in bags till wanted for use. 



Subsect. 6. Cauliflower. Brassica oleracea, var. e. botrytis, L. and Dec. Chou- 

 jleur, Fr. ; Blumenkohl, Ger. ; and Cavolijiori, Ital. 



3538. The cauliflower is one of the most delicate and curious of the whole of the brassica 

 tribe, the flower-buds forming a close, firm cluster or head, white and delicate, and for the 

 sake of which the plant is cultivated. 



3539. Use. " These heads or flowers being boiled, wrapped generally in a clean linen 

 cloth, are served up as a most delicate vegetable dish. Cauliflower is a particular fa- 

 vorite in this country. ' Of all the flowers in the garden,' Dr. Johnson used to say, * I 

 like the cauliflower.' Its culture, however, had been little attended to till about the close 

 of the 1 7th century ; since that time it has been greatly improved, insomuch that cauli- 

 flower may now fairly be claimed as peculiarly an English product. Till the time of 

 the French Revolution, quantities of English cauliflower were regularly sent to Holland ; 

 and the Low Countries, and even France, depended on us for cauliflower-seed. Even now, 

 English seed is preferred to any other." For the early supply of the London market, very 

 great quantities of cauliflower are fostered under hand-glasses during winter and the first 

 part of spring ; and to behold some acres overspread with such glasses, gives a stranger 

 a forcible idea of the riches and luxury of the metropolis. (Neill, in Ed. Encyc. ) 



3540. The subvarieties in cultivation are 



Early, for the first early crops I Red cauliflower ; having the stalks of the I teemed more hardy than the others, and 



Later, or large, for principal early, and head of a reddish or purple color, es- good for an early crop, 



main crops 



3541. Propagation and soil. The cauliflower is raised from seed, of which half an ounce is sufficient 

 for a seed-bed four feet and a half wide, by ten in length. The soil for the seed-bed may be light; bu 

 for final transplanting, it can hardly be too rich, the cauliflower, like the vine, being reputed a " rough 

 feeder." Cleanings of streets, stables, cess-pools, &c. ought therefore to be liberally supplied during the 

 growth of the plants, when very large heads are desired. 



3542. Times of sowing. " The early and main superior crop, brought to fruit by the longest nursery 

 attendance; the late summer succession crop, raised by the shortest course; and the Michaelmas crop- 

 obtained at the least expense ; are sown respectively at three different seasons. The principal sowing i 

 made about the end of the third week in August, or a day or two before or after the 21st, to raise plant 

 to stand over the winter, under frames, hand-glasses, or half sheltered in warm borders, for the early am 



